Software king of the world Microsoft has made another claim for its Edge browser – it is the only one which can run Netflix’s HD.

Redmond has been making all sorts of performance claims for Edge lately and it is safe to take most of them with a pinch of salt. But this latest one that you can only watch true 1080p content on Netflix over your PC, you need to use Microsoft’s Edge browser might actually be true.

A quick test of all four browsers by PCWorld proved this claim to be true showed that the other browsers were capped at 720p. Currently, Opera runs Netflix at a maximum resolution of 720p.

Microsoft has been doing its best to rehabilitate the Edge which, while better than Internet Exploder, lacked a lot of the functions which other browsers have offered for years. It seems that Redmond is trying to show us areas where Edge does better.

Microsoft slammed Google Chrome’s battery life, arguing that users on-the-go, and away from a power outlet, would be better served by Edge's superior power efficiency.

Now, Microsoft has publicized a Netflix support document, showing Netflix streams at 1080p on Internet Explorer and Edge, versus 720p on the other browsers. To do all this you have to use the “secret Netflix menus” unearthed by Reddit users (Ctrl+Alt+Shift+D) to display the resolution and bitrate. But Microsoft’s claim actually was true.

In a blog post, Microsoft claimed Microsoft Edge was built to take advantage of platform features in Windows 10, including the PlayReady Content Protection and the media engine’s Protected Media Path.

The company said it is working with the Open Media Alliance to develop next-generation media formats, codecs, and other technologies for UltraHD video, and with chipset companies to develop Enhanced Content Protection that moves the protected media path into peripheral hardware for an even higher level of security, and one that could be used to protect 4K media.

Software giant Microsoft claimed that its new Edge browser has succeeded in beating Google’s Chrome browser in key tests on battery use.

Redmond said that the tests showed that the Edge browser is a better choice for portable device owners.

Microsoft took four identical laptops running Windows 10 to see which of the four most popular browsers would be most efficient when it comes to battery life. Chrome ran out of battery after streaming a video for 4 hours and 19 minutes. Firefox managed 5 hours and 9 minutes and Opera managed to hit 6 hours and 18 minutes.

Microsoft's tests found that Edge lasted 7 hours and 22 minutes, which is 70 per cent longer than Chrome.

Writing in its blog post, a SpokesMicrosoft said:

"We designed Microsoft Edge from the ground up to prioritize power efficiency and deliver more battery life, without any special battery saving mode or changes to the default settings. Our testing and data show that you can simply browse longer with Microsoft Edge than with Chrome, Firefox, or Opera on Windows 10 devices."

You can take the figures with a grain of salt. After all, it is Microsoft doing the testing and it would say that it was better. We quite like the Edge browser but we are not going to use it until we can have some access to some sensible add-ons and extensions.

A group of Chinese investors are prepared to write a cheque for $1.2 billion to buy the Opera browser.

The Norwegian company has confirmed that it has recently received an acquisition offer from Kunlun Tech and Qihoo 360, backed by Golden Brick Silk Road and Yonglian investment firms.

Kunlun Tech has come far. It used to be a gaming company and has a bulky portfolio which includes the gay dating app Grindr in January. Qihoo is an antivirus- and browser-maker.

The price is 53 or so percent higher than Opera's closing price on February 4, before rumors of a buyout started going around. Oslo's stock exchange stopped trading its shares a couple of days ago, and the company has postponed its earnings calls scheduled for Wednesday morning.

Opera is unanimously recommending shareholders to approve the takeover, according to its chief executive Lars Boilesen.

"There is strong strategic and industrial logic to the acquisition of Opera by the Consortium. We believe that the Consortium, with its breadth of expertise and strong market position in emerging markets, will be a strong owner of Opera. The Consortium's ownership will strengthen Opera's position to serve our users and partners with even greater innovation, and to accelerate our plans of expansion and growth."

Opera has been looking for a buyer since 2015. Besides its desktop browser, it's also known for its mobile browsers that compress websites and videos before delivering them, as well as its mobile advertising business.

According to internet statistics firm StatCounter, Google's Chrome Web browser has now past 20 percent of global market share, and for the first time Microsoft's Internet Explorer has slipped below 50 percent.

Google's browser, which was officially launched in late 2008, took 20.7 percent of the global market in June, which was up from 2.8 percent year over year from 2009. The uptick in usage of the Chrome Web browser has marked a sevenfold increase over the last two years as Google battles in desktop mobile and search markets with Microsoft and Apple.

According to its market share data report for the month of June 2010, Microsoft's Internet Explorer led with 53.7 percent, Firefox had 21.7 percent and Chrome 13.1 percent. Apple Inc's Safari 7.5 percent and Norway's Opera 1.7 percent.

StatCounter, which is based Ireland, states that it's statistics are based on data collected from a sample base of more than 15 billion page views per month from over than 3 million websites. Net Applications, a preferred browser statistics source, estimates that Google's share has not increased quite as much.

Google's Chrome browser has had rather a good year. According to bean counters at Net Applications the fledgling browser has 10 per cent of the market having made gains at the expense of Redmond's Internet Exploder.

The figures do have some good news for Microsoft. It seems that IE9, which embodies Microsoft's dream to build a cutting-edge browser, is showing signs of real adoption with usage that grew from 0.4 percent in November to 0.5 percent in December.

For months now, Chrome has been on the rise. It jumped from 9.3 percent in November statistics to 10 percent in December. Mozilla's Firefox, the second-place browser, stayed flat at about 22.8 percent, Apple's Safari rose from 5.6 percent to 5.9 percent, and Opera was flat at about 2.2 percent.

Chrome and Safari grew at the expense of IE, which dropped from 58.4 percent to 57.1 percent.